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| File photo |
Gunmen suspected to be cattle herders allegedly gunned down a passenger at the Okada junction on the Benin-Lagos Expressway.
Seven other passengers were also abducted by the hoodlums, who hijacked the bus in which they were travelling.
The police, however, stated that the abducted passengers had been rescued by its operatives.
It was gathered that the driver of the bus escaped into the bush along with four other passengers.
A relative of one of the victims explained that the bus, which belongs to one of the popular transport companies based in Benin, took off from Ajah in Lagos and was heading to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, when it ran into the armed herdsmen, who had laid siege to the highway, robbing and kidnapping innocent travellers.
The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed DanMallam, confirmed the abduction and the death of the passenger in a telephone interview with our correspondent.
He said the deceased passenger died during an escape bid when the victims were being marched into the forest by the kidnappers.
The CP explained that policemen at the nearest checkpoint were immediately deployed to dislodged the hoodlums and rescue the victims.
โThe police were able to rescue the victims unhurt but unfortunately, one of the passengers, who tried to escape during the abduction, was killed by the gunmen. The police went after the kidnappers in the bush and succeeded in rescuing the victims,โ DanMallam stated.
